Nonduality: The Wholeness of Experience Amy Ward & John Astin - A New Approach to Psychology Informed by Nonduality
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Aug 20, 2025 Join John Astin, an author and teacher focused on nonduality, as he delves into fresh psychological insights and therapeutic practices. He explores the contrast between the describable world and direct experience, challenging conventional views on anxiety and suffering. The conversation unveils the significance of non-dual perspectives in therapy, advocating for experiential discovery as a powerful tool. John also discusses the benefits of integrating these insights into psychology, emphasizing the importance of presence and meeting fears in transformative ways.
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From Talks To Book: A Hard Edit
- John Astin describes converting talks into a book and the struggle of translating speech to readable prose.
- He spent a year editing and oscillated between abandoning and preserving the material.
Why Seeking Persists
- 'Unsatisfactoriness' (dukkha) arises because we define and interpret experience as lacking.
- John Astin says discovering reality transcends our definitions relaxes the drive to keep seeking.
Therapy Skips The Foundational Question
- Psychology often treats problems as defined entities without first asking 'what is it?'.
- John Astin points out therapy assumes categories like anxiety exist as knowable things, which hides deeper inquiry.
